How to help dyslexic DSD through French GCSE?

[PontyMython]

Options time is fast approaching, DSD is 13 and in yr9. I am under the impression languages went through a non-compulsory phase but are now mandatory at GCSE again? Either way she has been told she must do it.

She can barely write in English let alone read or write French :(

She's accepted that she will not be acing this subject and she knows that we will be over the moon whatever she gets. We have agreed that she needs to only 'get through' and to mainly focus on other subjects - but obviously we know a U would devastate her. She puts so much effort into everything, she is never lazy. She keeps trying despite being constantly told she isn't good enough (including on occasion by her mother, but that's another thread ). She proudly showed me her test paper today... "I was the worst in the class, but it was still the best I've ever done" I was happy for her obviously but very sad it has to be like this.

So. I am looking for any tips or resources to help her through this. School are not being at all forthcoming (the extent of help for dyslexia was... ... handwriting practise ). And of course there is the extra barrier that she doesn't live with us, so despite her really wanting the help from us (well, me, as DH and his ex can't do French) there is not that much time for it, especially as she needs to do her other subjects here too (no help at her house, her mum takes no interest) and spend time with her little siblings.

I don't know, I'm thinking along the lines of focusing on the main verbs/adjectives/key phrases that she will need. We've done successful versions of card games for maths so I'm wondering about making up some games to learn key words? Other than that, I'm stumped.

Any ideas will be gratefully considered.

She needs to get proper help for her dyslexia. Don't leave it.

They have tried getting her statemented - I don't know the details as I'm not a guardian, but from what I remember she has had 3 assessments over the years and none were conclusive enough. She had a scribe in SATs despite not having a statement, and she did brilliantly (science is her favourite subject) - so her new school refused her help, other than the aforementioned handwriting. Because she had good SATs results.

DH is trying to find out more details from his ex so they can push the school together (they won't listen to him alone, he's just the NRP, what does he know right?! ); DSD herself is so despondent that she actually asked us not to bother trying :(

If the school is unhelpful, could you try and find a dyslexic adult native French speaker or a dyslexic fluent French speaker who has been helped over his/her difficulties and who might be able to understand what would help your DSD best. You could try finding out if there are any French evening classes near and ask the tutors. Or could the education authority be asked to intervene - perhaps to indicate that DSD should not be required to take French?

There's a PDF avaliable on this website describing the suitability of each of the common languages for dyslexic students. I am mildly dyslexic and have worked with students with SEN for a while and I totally agree with their descriptions. Dyslexic students I have worked with have always done Spanish and I did German at school. I would forcefully recommend that your DSD switch languages if at all possible. French will be very very difficult for her, German and Spanish would be both easier and may actually help her spelling etc in English.

This is also lifted from the first link:
Other subjects are suffering because of the students? difficulty with foreign languages. Is there any way to stop studying a foreign language?

Even though learning a foreign language is part of the National Curriculum, it is possible to ?disapply?, under the 1996 Education Act. This means that the student does not have to take classes or exams in that subject. Disapplication will usually be relevant at Key Stage 4, that is years 10 and 11, when the GCSE course is imminent.

For a full outline of the procedure, visit the Department for Education website or telephone 0800 000 2288 and ask for a copy of the leaflet ?Disapplication of the National Curriculum'. Disapplication is permitted through a statement of Special Educational Needs, as may be the case for some dyslexic students. It is also possible to disapply for specific purposes (for example, just for Key Stage 4) or temporarily.

www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/about-dyslexia/schools-colleges-and-universities/modern-foreign-languages-and-dyslexia.html
Also useful:
www.specialeducationalneeds.com/case/sen.html

www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/Modern-Foreign-Languages-and-Dyslexia-6049000/

How about paying for dyslexia help yourself?

My severely dyslexic (year 9) son won't be taking a language at GCSE. He has plenty of good choices he can make, so he will take those. He has asked for us to allow him to go to a tutor to continue languages (probably Spanish but maybe both Spanish and French) slowly, honing in mainly on his strengths (listening and speaking) and spending a bit of time on the reading and writing. He wants to continue this during sixth form when, if necessary and he is able, he will sit a GCSE or an O level.

He has come up with all this himself. He cannot be arsed to dedicate what will be literally hundreds of hours to learning stuff rote fashion in a foreign language when he has trouble reading and spelling in English.

If he is going to invest hours doing anything he finds really difficult it will be the core English not rote learning language paragraphs (which he actually thinks won't be difficult - it may actually prove impossible).

Tuition, or private assessment, not an option financially :(

Mum on income support, we are surviving on my Apprenticeship wage as DH has a prolapsed disc and can't work. Fun times.

Thanks for all the ideas - changing language not an option according to the school, and anyway I think she'd be reluctant to lose the 3yrs she's put in already IYSWIM - she may not have learnt much but at least it's a start.

Don't know any French dyslexic people but I do know my parents' lodger, who is quite shy herself but they have met and got on ok, so I will have a chat about that idea. It's great and why on earth didn't I think of it myself

If her English is so bad that she can barely read and write, buy "Toe by Toe" and work through it with her. She will make dramatic improvements.

Even though learning a foreign language is part of the National Curriculum, it is possible to ?disapply?, under the 1996 Education Act.

That is so helpful thank you. And for the links too. DSD has actually said she doesn't mind doing it... I think that is due to pressure from her mum, she reckons she will be totally screwed in the future without it. There may also be an element of not wanting to stick out like a sore thumb, IYSWIM.

A bit unsure of what you meant though, do you mean you can only ever do the disapply thing if you have a statement, or are there exceptions to that?

I can understand her reluctance to "lose" 3 years (although I don't believe you can lose the benefit of any education, you don't need a GCSE in it for it to have been worth it).

If her written English is as bad as you imply and her passion is for science (so unlikely to need a foreign language in the future) I would seriously consider ditching the french. She could have extra English tution in that time. You may not have as hard a time as you'd imagine convincing the school given the immense pressure on 5 A*-C including Maths and English percentages.

Better to push an E to a C in English than get that E and a G for French.

I second toe by toe, it's a great program (cheaper on Amazon)

Thanks mindthegappp I have heard that course does great things. I will try and get a copy now you've reminded me. We considered it a while ago but decided not to at the time, basically because although we would stick to it 100% at our house, there is no way her mum would do it, and if IIRC you have to do it daily?

Or do you think it would work doing it sporadically? Would really appreciate some views on that, as we would be very willing to try it. Pity her mother wouldn't.

My understanding (I'm an LSA so never heavily involved in the disapplication process) is that it is easiest if you have a statement but also possible otherwise. This is useful.

You will really need to get school on side though, even if that is only possible by pointing out how you DSD's grade will affect their results (sad, isn't it?)

It is sad, especially as the school went on about how good they were at helping students with LDs

Her reading isn't quite so bad, She voluntarily read some stories to her little brother this morning and was reading some lyrics with me (she's a fab singer), she's by no means accurate all the time but she can get by.

My understanding is that it has to be done daily.

However, there are other options. Does your DSD have a good friend at school who would be willing to spend 10 minutes on the days when you can't? According to their website, the coaching can be done by a peer. Perhaps her form tutor would be willing too - sometimes non-assembly days can be a real drag for a form tutor and they would welcome being able to spend some one on one time.

I have never heard a bad thing about this course (except for the cost of the book), and I have seen pupils make massive progress in a fairly short amount of time. And it is progress that sticks.

I might be totally wrong about multiple coaches as I am not directly involved. I know that the students in school who are on this programme spend 10 minutes at home and 10 minutes at school per day (so have at least two coaches).

This is an interesting thread for me as my DD has mild dyslexia and is in Y8.
She has just started Latin and is enjoying the history aspect of it - I think the humanities are possibly her strongest subjects - she's sooo interested in everything - especially history ! But anyway I don't see her continuing with the Latin to GCSE as she has to do a modern foreign language, which for her will be French. ( So, Latin would unfortunately have to be on top of that) What I'm hoping is we could perhaps spend some time getting her French speaking and listening really good by spending time with her French cousins. I'm thinking if her speaking and listening is really good perhaps the written side of it all will come more easily too. But anyway, I think it helps to recognise that foreign languages will probably not be her greatest strength - and to be prepared to flag up to teachers that she does have dyslexic tendencies which will affect her abilities in this subject.

So, for a suggestion, how about conversation classes, a French exchange, or a holiday in France to practice those new and hard earned skills ?

Sorry posted to soon

The reading is all from memory/guessing/context as far as I can tell, I don't think she would be able to decode. Her head must be totally full, it must take heaps of effort to understand everything let alone memorise it for a test.

Her writing OTOH is really depressingly bad. She likes writing stories but they are unreadable. Her grades are low even when content is good, because of her spelling. Again it is memory, perhaps it is improving a little as she is trying to read more (and having to because of school) - but again I doubt she could spell a new word even if it were phonetically simple.

Thank you so much for all this input, I really appreciate it.

Can you tell me more about Lexia please, I think I've heard of it but that's where my knowledge ends. Am very interested especially as for Xmas we got her a basic laptop (got to love eBay eh?)

School days must be exhausting for her, PM.

One of my students is particularly severely dyslexic and when I have her class at the end of the day, she looks at me with her beautiful big eyes with tears of tiredness, not saying anything but begging me not to have her do any writing or difficult reading.

I have tried doing the lesson in the ICT suite so that she doesn't have to worry as much about spelling, but she is just knackered by then and even that is too much for her.

Hugs to your DSD, and to you for being such a support.

Aww thanks. Yes, she's pretty tired, I just thought I'm writing this post so quickly and even something like this would take incredible effort. And most of us take this ability for granted, don't we. She's also been getting migraines since starting secondary, though fingers crossed they seem to be reducing in frequency.

I think the idea of getting her speaking French with your parents French lodger is a great idea - especially as they get on well already

There's no reason she couldn't use a laptop in any or all of her public exams (I did because my writing is like chicken scratchings, especially when I have to write fast)

We used Lexia at the last secondary school I worked in (I work in a special needs school now). I would say it's more based on reading than spelling though (of course the two things are linked!) It's a series of games based around the different parts of reading. Lots of videos here I would suggest Word Shark for spelling

Also work with her motivation. If she likes singing then do some whenever you can, reading and writing lyrics is just as valid as writing stories.

Blame the English Bac - schools are now measured by students passing a group of GCSEs including a language.

This is bad news for dyslexics, as most will be forced to do French as it is the subject there are more teachers and Spanish and German are often only available to those that are good at French.

The good news for dyslexics is that from 2012 there willbe a GCSE in British Sign Language, a language many dyslexics find completely logical, and one you can actually use.

I wouold write t othe school and say she has such a small chance of passing French she will not be doing any homework for it as she needs to concentrate on other subjects, particularly as they are breaking a number of laws on inclusion / discrimination.

Tell DD the same - she may have to attend the class, but not do any homework, a U does not appear on a certificate but a G does. Or ask the school that she does not aattend.

If there is a BSL class near you, an evening class or saturday morning enrol her in that, tell the school that she will be taking BSL GCSE in 2012 which means the school get their ebac, your daughter does not so French and hopefully is allowed study sessions instead.